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News Archive: November 2004

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This information is provided for reference. Over time, links to news items may become unavailable, in these cases the item will remain listed, but no link will be provided. Also, please be aware that the information in any particular article may be outdated or superseded by additional information.

November 24
 Comments Invited on Modification of Captan Cancer Classification
In response to public comments, EPA has modified certain provisions of the 1999 Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for the pesticide captan, and has opened a public comment period on these changes. The captan task force voluntarily pursued a process to reclassify captan's initial cancer classification as a probable human carcinogen by supporting a third-party review of data to support a mode of action determination for captan. Based on the third-party review and subsequent Agency review, EPA has determined that captan acts through a non-genotoxic threshold mode of action. Although the Agency is issuing a single Federal Register notice to announce both the amendment to the RED and the reevaluation of the cancer classification, the change in cancer classification does not change the risk management conclusions nor amend the 1999 Captan RED, and is not considered a reregistration action. Comments, identified by docket identification number OPP- 2004-0296, must be received on or before January 24, 2005.

Risk Assessment, Risk Reduction Documents for Three EBDC Pesticides and Ethylene Thiourea (ETU) Available for Comment
EPA's risk assessments, preliminary risk reduction options, and related documents for the ethylenbisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs) pesticides mancozeb, maneb, metiram, plus a common degradate, ethylene thiourea (ETU), are available for public comment. The public also is encouraged to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) for these chemicals. Comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number OPP- 2004-0078, must be received on or before February 22, 2005.

November 23
Tennessee Dairy Farmer Indicted on Clean Water Act Charges
The owner of the Black Jack Ridge Dairy near the community of Santa Fe, Tennessee, was indicted on November 4 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville on two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of violating the Clean Water Act. The indictment alleges that the owner used both a manmade pipe and a spray irrigation system to discharge waste from his dairy facility onto the grounds of his property. The wastes then allegedly flowed into Lick Creek, which empties into the Duck River.

November 19
EPA's Pesticide Program Ready for Soybean Rust Threat
Since November 10, 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed that soybean rust -- an aggressive and harmful plant disease in soybeans -- has been discovered in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Soybean rust is caused by a fungus that spreads by spores that can be carried by the wind. It is believed that spores were carried to the southeastern United States from South America during the 2004 hurricane season.  EPA, along with USDA and state departments of agriculture, has been planning for just such an event, and EPA has approved several fungicides for soybean growers. The detection of soybean rust late in the year, after commercial soybeans have already been harvested, should give growers some lead time for planning an integrated control strategy for the disease in the 2005 growing season. EPA has published a list of pesticides that are available as of November 30, 2004. Updates will follow if additional new products clear the pesticide registration process.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

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November 18
After Extensive Analysis, EPA Removes Chemicals from Lists of Regulated Pollutants
EPA has finalized several actions that will create incentives for industry to use solvents that are less toxic and may help decrease the formation of ground-level ozone or smog. These reviews concluded that the chemicals pose less risk than previously thought and that reclassifying them would not compromise public health, and may even benefit public health if they are substituted for more toxic or environmentally damaging chemicals. Under the authority of the Clean Air Act, EPA has delisted or exempted six chemicals: the solvent ethylene glycol mono-butyl ether (EGBE) has been removed from the list of air toxics (also known as hazardous air pollutants) and the chemical t-butyl acetate (TBAC) and four others exempted from control as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

In a separate action, EPA is taking phosmet off the “Extremely Hazardous Substance” (EHS) list under section 302 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) and will no longer be subject to reporting requirements under that section (e.g. notifying their State Emergency Response Commission and Local Emergency Planning Committee that they are subject to the emergency planning provisions of EPCRA section 302 for the chemical phosmet). Phosmet is a non-systemic organophosphate insecticide used for agricultural crop protection of fruit, nut and certain field crops. Phosmet is still a “hazardous chemical” under section 311 and 312 requirements, except when it is used in routine agricultural operations, such as a pesticide applied on crops. Therefore, facilities that process or distribute phosmet would still be subject to EPCRA section 311 and 312 reporting requirements (inventory and material safety data sheets) if they have phosmet present in amounts equal to or greater than 10,000 pounds.

November 16
13 Countries Join U.S. in Launching Methane to Markets Partnership
EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt is joining representatives from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom today in signing a Terms of Reference formally creating the Methane to Markets Partnership. This new global initiative serves to advance international cooperation on the recovery and use of methane as a valuable clean energy source. Methane to Markets has the potential to reduce net methane emissions by up to 50 million metric tons of carbon equivalent annually by 2015 and continue at that level or higher in the future. This would be the carbon equivalent of removing 33 million cars from roadways for one year or eliminating emissions from 50 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants.

EPA Announces Opening of Four New EMS Local Resource Centers
EPA Office of Water, working in cooperation with the Global Environment and Technology Foundation, has announced the selection of four new Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Local Resource Centers (PEER Centers) to help local governments learn more about and adopt EMSs for their operations. These centers are part of the Office of Water's ongoing Public Entity EMS Resource (PEER) Initiative. The new centers are located at the University of Missouri-Rolla, Kansas State University, the University of Colorado, and EcoVenture in Oakland, California. EMSs provide organizations with a structured approach for assessing and reducing their environmental impacts on a continual basis. These new centers join seven existing centers around the country.

EPA Extends Comment Period on Revised Comparative Ecological Risk Assessment for Rodenticides
EPA issued a notice in the Federal Register on September 22, 2004, titled "Rodenticides; Availability of Revised Comparative Ecological Risk Assessment.'' This notice extends the closing date of the comment period announced in that notice by 60 days, from November 22, 2004, to January 21, 2005.

November 15
FY 2004 Enforcement Secures Record $4.8 Billion in Cleanups
EPA enforcement actions concluded in fiscal year (FY) 2004 will reduce a projected 1 billion pounds of pollution and require cleanups estimated to total a record $4.8 billion – significant increases from last year. Other annual measures of the Agency’s enforcement and compliance activity – such as the number of inspections (up 11 percent from FY 2003) and investigations (up 32 percent from FY 2003) – surpassed or kept pace with previous years, indicating continued progress in deterring violations of the nation’s environmental laws and reflecting an emphasis on environmental benefits and compliance.

November 12
Trading Handbook Helps Water Quality Managers Achieve Cleaner Watersheds
Water quality trading has gained attention as an effective market-based approach for state and local governments to achieve cleaner water. Because the concept of water trading is new and not commonly practiced, water quality managers may want to know if trading will work in their local watershed. EPA's "Water Quality Trading Assessment Handbook" is designed to help determine if trading can be used to make cost-effective pollutant reductions and determine if trading may be the appropriate tool. Using a hypothetical river basin, the handbook illustrates a framework that may be used as a model in any watershed to evaluate problems and determine if trading could effectively address those local conditions. The handbook also illustrates how to assess the relative costs of controlling key pollutants and helps the user decide if trading would be financially attractive to watershed participants.

November 11
American Pesticide Control Officials/State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group To Hold Public Meeting
The Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO)/State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) will hold a 2-day meeting December 6 and 7, 2004, in Arlington, Virginia. The tentative agenda is included in the Federal Register notice. EPA has established an official public docket for this action under docket identification (ID) number OPP-2004-0376.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

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November 10
EPA Seeks Proposals for Pesticide Safety Program for Agricultural Workers, Pesticide Handlers, Health Providers
EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is soliciting proposals for financial assistance to support a continuing national and international pesticide safety program to analyze occupational safety programs and information for agricultural workers, pesticide providers, and health professionals to reduce exposure to pesticides. As part of this program, the grantee will analyze the current status of private and public programs on pesticide safety; conduct outreach meetings with experts from the agricultural community to assess needs; and develop education and training programs, outreach materials, and improved hazard communications for pesticide applicators, agricultural workers, health providers, growers, and local, state, national, and international organizations and government agencies. Applications must be received by EPA on or before December 27, 2004.

Comments Invited on Cyhexatin Risk Assessments and Preliminary Risk Reduction Options
EPA has released risk assessments, preliminary risk reduction options, and related documents for the pesticide cyhexatin, and has opened a public comment period on these documents. The public also is encouraged to suggest risk management ideas or proposals to address the risks identified. EPA is developing a tolerance reassessment decision (TRED) for cyhexatin through a modified, four-phase public participation process. Comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number OPP-2004-0295, must be received on or before January 10, 2005.

November 9
EPA Statement on Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study
Because protecting the health and well-being of children is of paramount importance, EPA is sending the Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS) for another external, independent review by an expert panel made up of members of the Science Advisory Board, the Science Advisory Panel, and the Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee. It is anticipated that this review will be completed and that a report will be forwarded to the Administrator in spring 2005. Based on this review, the Agency will reassess the study. EPA scientists need to fully understand how children are exposed to pesticides and through what media (air, water, soil, etc.) EPA is particularly concerned about childhood exposure, because children may be more vulnerable than adults to the effects of environmental contaminants due to their smaller body sizes and rapid physical development. There is insufficient research to define pathways of exposure -- the routes by which pesticides may enter a child's body. Possible pathways that could be investigated are ingestion (food and drink), inhalation, residue from crops, soil, and ingestion of household dust.

EPA Orders Nevada Beef Company To Correct Violations of Federal Water Regulations
EPA ordered the Agri-Beef Company to correct damage done to a local river on its 1.4 million-acre IL Ranch in Elko County, Nevada, in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. EPA ordered the company to correct damage done to a segment of the South Fork Owyhee River at the company’s ranch located approximately 80 miles north of Elko. The company placed roughly 3,200 cubic yards of dredged material -- dirt and debris – into the river to divert 1,200 feet of its flow without first obtaining a federal permit.

November 8
U.S. Calls NAFTA Environmental Report “Flawed, Unscientific”
The United States has issued a statement regarding the Secretariat of the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) report on genetically modified maize (corn), “Maize and Biodiversity: The Effects of Transgenic Maize in Mexico,” released November 8. The Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Trade Representative issued the joint statement, which says in part: “This report is fundamentally flawed and unscientific; key recommendations are not based on sound science, and are contradicted by the report’s own scientific findings. The authors acknowledge that no economic analysis of their recommendations was conducted, and that many of these recommendations are based solely on socio-cultural considerations."

November 4
EPA Withdraws Proposal on Test Procedures for Detection and Quantitation of Water Pollutants; Releases Revised Document
EPA is withdrawing the March 2003 proposal to revise detection and quantitation procedures used in Clean Water Act (CWA) programs. The decision to withdraw the proposal is based on the divergent views on the proposed revisions and a desire to improve the procedures through a possible stakeholder dialogue. EPA is also releasing a revised assessment document on detection and quantitation procedures.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

November 3
EPA Works To Improve Pollution Detection Methods
EPA is withdrawing its March 2003 proposal to revise detection and quantitation procedures used in water permitting and monitoring and allowing the existing 1986 procedures to stand. The existing procedures are being left in place in order for EPA to conduct additional discussions with stakeholders on remaining technical issues related to quantitation and detection.

Comments Invited on Risk Assessments for Nitrapyrin
EPA has released human health and environmental fate and effects risk assessments and related documents for the pesticide nitrapyrin. These documents have been developed as part of the process for making pesticide Reregistration Eligibility Decisions (REDs) and tolerance reassessments for nitrapyrin. There will be a 60-day public comment period. Comments, identified by docket identification (ID) number OPP-2004-0283, must be received on or before January 3, 2005.

November 2
Office of Water Requests Proposals Supporting Biological Criteria Program
EPA Office of Water's Biological Criteria Program has announced the availability of funds and has requested proposals for research to support the development and implementation of biological assessments and criteria. State water pollution control agencies, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, institutions of higher education, interstate agencies, and other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and individuals are eligible to apply. EPA will accept proposals until January 1, 2005.

November 1
EPA Releases Final Science Review Document on Clean Air Standards for Particulate Matter
EPA has released the final scientific assessment document on airborne particulate matter, entitled Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter. Particulate matter (PM) is one of six principal or criteria pollutants for which EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under the Clean Air Act. In accordance with the requirements of the CAA, EPA periodically reviews the scientific basis for these standards. This document provides significant new information for the technical and policy assessments of EPA’s review of the standards. It includes an analysis of a large amount of new scientific literature generated since the NAAQS for PM were revised in 1997. This final assessment document has been subjected to expert scientific peer review by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, a review committee mandated by the Clean Air Act and part of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board.

Pesticide Registration Requests, Actions, and Tolerance Updates

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